


Heart Strings

by thesquirrelqueer



Category: Phandom
Genre: AU, Amazingphil - Freeform, College AU, DAN AND PHIL - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Phan - Freeform, Phandom - Freeform, Phanfiction, danisnotonfire - Freeform, musician au, phanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-22 23:04:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12492856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesquirrelqueer/pseuds/thesquirrelqueer
Summary: Music! Phan AU created by wavyfoxtrotDan is a piano virtuoso who's world is turned upside down when he meets Phil, the lead guitarist of a rock band





	1. Chapter 1

Phil sprinted across campus, his guitar hitting his back with each step he took. It was definitely knocked out of tune. He would need to fix it at practice. Which he was running late to, as usual. In his hand he held his keycard so he could quickly scan it and go into PJ's dorm. They always practiced in his room, PJ played drums, which were a lot harder to move around than Phil's guitar.

Phil huffed as he made his way across the quad. His eyes were set on the door to the dorms. So much so, that he barely noticed the other person running perpendicular to him. They collided and papers flew everywhere.

"Hey!" The other boy exclaimed as he desperately tried to put his papers back into a pile. Phil scampered to help him.

"Dude I'm really sorry." He said as pulled him to his feet. He had really pretty brown eyes.

"It's fine, I'll put them in order later." He clutched the papers to his chest. He then bent down and picked up the card on the ground. "Here, this is yours." He handed the card to him.

"Thanks." Phil ran towards the building. Dan watched him go, his guitar flying behind him. He's kinda cute. Dan thought to himself. He smiled and made his way back to his own dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

"G, F#, B, D fuck, no it's G F# B E" Dan was trying to practice a new piece of music, but was finding it very hard to concentrate. He kept thinking about the boy he had run into. Literally. He was another musician. He seemed sweet. And he wasn't too hard on the eyes either.

Sighing, he put the sheet music away and pushed the keyboard away. There was no use in practicing now. He laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was brought back to reality when there was a knock at his door.

He slid off the bed and open the door for his visitor. His heart jumped to his throat. It was the boy from before. Startled, Dan took a step back. The boy was leaning against the door frame in a seductive manner.

"Mind if I come in?" He asked. Dan nodded. He couldn't speak. "Cool." He wandered in and leaned on Dan's desk chair.

"So how'd you find me?" Dan closed the door. Phil threw a keycard at him.

"You gave me yours by mistake and I just asked housing where your room was."

"Oh, so you know my name then. But I don't know-"

"It's Phil. Phil Lester." He extended his hand and Dan shook it.

"So like, why'd you come to my room?"

"It was the easiest way to find you" Phil laughed. Dan laughed and blushed slightly. Phil looked around the room." So you play piano?" Phil pointed to Dan's keyboard at the foot of his bed.

Dan's face lit up. Music was one of his favorite things to talk about. "Yeah, I've been playing since I was 7. I love it. Music is such a beautiful language."

"Since you were 7! Dude you gotta show me." Dan grabbed the keyboard. Phil sat down at his desk chair and put his face in his hands. Dan took a deep breath. He placed his fingers on the keys and began to play. Phil watched his hands fly over the keys, transfixed. He applauded when he had finished. Dan stood up and did a little bow.

"You're like a virtuoso! That's so cool!" Dan smiled. Not many people liked to hear him play. Well, people liked hearing him play, but not many people wanted to listen. No one wanted to be friends with the quiet kid who played classical music.

"Thanks!" Dan laughed.

"So like what kind of music do you like?" Phil moved from the chair to sit next to Dan on his bed. Dan scooted away.

"Mostly classical, you know, Tchaïkovsky, Haydn, Schumann." Dan shrugged.

"I don't know. Do you think you could play some for me?" Phil slid closer to Dan.

"Sure!" Dan played for Phil. Phil tapped the beat on his leg. Dan smiled at him being so into his music.

"Can you teach me something?" Phil scooted closer to Dan. They were touching shoulders. Dan could feel a spark of electricity between them.

"I guess I could teach you something simple." Dan played twinkle twinkle little star for Phil. "All you need to do is press these keys." Dan showed him the 6 keys he needed. Phil tried to play it, poorly.

"Like this?" He asked.

"No no no no" Dan grabbed his hand and moved it onto the keys. He played the song using Phil's fingers. No one ever learns to play like that, but Dan made it up as an excuse to hold Phil's hand. "Now you try."

Phil slowly played the song with a few mess ups, but still was grinning from ear to ear when he was done.

"Bravo!" Dan clapped.

"You'd think I'd be better at piano from playing guitar, but I'm still pretty shit."

"I could never play guitar either." Dan laughed.

"Maybe I'll show you my guitar skills sometime as well." Phil got up to leave. "Listen, this was fun and all, but I gotta get back to studying. I'll see you around. Or you can come to my gig this Friday at Gorilla. It'll be a ton of fun, but I gotta go." He left Dan, alone.

When he had gone, Dan flopped onto his bed. His stomach was full of butterflies and his heart was full of joy.


	3. Chapter 3

The band was already in full swing when Dan arrived at the club. There were so many people. Too many. Dan wasn't expecting such a large crowd. He hated them. He could barely see the band over people's heads.

Dan made his way through the crowd to the front of the stage. Everyone was dancing and moving around and bumping into each other. Having a grand old time. Dan didn't like interacting with people like that. He finally found some breathing space when he got to the stage. There was Phil. He was immersed in his guitar playing, his fingers moving like spiders on the strings. There was no way this was the same Phil he had met. This Phil was cool and made playing music seem effortless. He totally could have been able to play twinkle twinkle little star with fingers that fast and precise.

Dan watched in awe as Phil rocked out song after song, never missing a single note. Dan found himself actually enjoying being in a crowd for once and started to dance along to the music. Phil noticed he was there and promptly gave him a flirtatious wink while he shredded out another fast guitar solo. Dan melted at his action. They hadn't known each other for very long, but already Dan was putty in Phil's hands.

They finished their set with a fast and upbeat song. Dan had never had so much fun dancing. He was tired out from it and sweat dripped down his face. He collapsed at a booth panting.

"This seat taken?" Phil slid in next to him. He put his arm around Dan's shoulder. Dan leaned into him. Like I said, putty. "You want anything to drink?"

Dan shook his head. "I can't. I'm underage. I turn 21 in June."

"Oh okay." Phil called to the bartender to get him a beer. The man sighed and ran out from behind the bar to give the bottle to him. Phil downed half of it before slamming the bottle on the table.

"Shit dude." Dan mumbles. Phil tightens his grip around Dan. He leans his face into Dan's, the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"You're cute." He says drunkly. Either he's a lightweight or he'd already had some to drink before performing. Which would be impressive considering his performance. Dan blushes.

"You're pretty cute yourself." He blurts out. Phil puts a finger on Dan's lips.

"Shhhh. Don't speak. I just wanna stare at your face." He presses his forehead against Dan's. "I like your face." Dan giggles.

Phil finishes his beer and downs 2 others. He lays his head on Dan's lap. Dan tenderly strokes Phil's hair. The music becomes slower. Phil suddenly sits up.

"Dan, hic, we should dance."

"Okay." Phil drags him to the dance floor and puts an arm around his waist. They interlock their fingers. Phil pulls him tight against his chest. They slow dance to Always by Erasure. Phil spins Dan and dips him. Dan laughs. The song changes and the tempo picks up. They dance holding hands.

The song changes. Phil grabs Dan's back again and slowly runs his hand down to his butt. Dan lets out a little squeak and his eyes widen.

"Sorry." Phil says flustered and quickly moves his hand away.

"No no it's fine, I'm okay with it." Phil tentatively puts his hand on Dan's ass. Dan smiles and laughs. Phil pulls him closer, but Dan spins around and presses his back into Phil. Phil grabs his hips and Dan grinds on him. When the song ends, Dan turns back around to face Phil.

"Lets go back to my place." He says.


	4. Chapter 4

"You have a sad face on your face when you smile" Phil giggles. They were lying on Dan's bed and Phil was still drunk as ever. He had been talking about Dan all night. And Dan was overjoyed that he was. It meant he was as in love with him as he was Phil.

Phil booped his nose. "I like your face."

"You already said that!" Dan laughs.

"I wanna kiss your face." Phil grabs Dan's face in his hands and kisses him. It's a soft and brief kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. Dan is left with his mouth hanging open, in disbelief that Phil actually wanted to kiss him and had gone through with it.

Seeing Dan's shocked reaction, Phil worries he's overstepped a boundary, but then Dan's lips are on his with the passion of a thousand stars and that thought slips away. Phil closes his eyes and kisses him back. Dan smiles into the kiss. Before they know it, Phil is on top of Dan, his legs wrapped around Phil. Dan pulls him closer to his body, filled with a want to just be as close to Phil as he possibly can.

They roll over and Phil runs his hands down Dan's back. He slips it under his boxers and grabs his butt. He pulls him close and Dan tangles his legs with Phil's. He can feel Phil's erection through his pants and tries his hardest not to get one himself, to no avail.

"Um... do you want me to..." Dan stammers. Phil looks down at himself.

"No, don't do it unless you want to." Dan shakes his head. "That's fine." He kisses Dan's forehead.

"But... um do you think you could..." He makes an up and down motion with his hand. Phil nods and begins to palm Dan. He lets out a small moan of enjoyment.

When he finishes, Dan gives Phil a tender kiss and lays his head on his shoulder. He snuggles up to Phil, who wraps his arms around Dan.

"I think I love you." Dan's muffled voice is heard. Phil smiles and kisses the top of his head. He runs his fingers through Dan's hair and Dan lets out a soft "mmmmmhmmmm"

"I think I love you too." Phil whispers and squeezes Dan's shoulder. Dan lets out another contented "mmmmhmm" and soon enough is fast asleep in Phil's arms. Phil feels his eyelids get heavy and struggles to stay awake just so he can spend a little more time being conscious of the boy in his arms. But sleep wins and Phil's quiet snoring joins Dan's slow breathing.


	5. Chapter 5

The falling leaves of autumn turn into snow, which melts to make way for spring. And even through the cold of winter, their love had been blossoming like a flower. Now that spring was coming around, they were going on more walks through the campus and enjoying the flowers that were planted in the quad.

"This is for you!" Phil smiled as he held out a rose to Dan when they met again by the flowers. Dan took it and Phil's hand and together they walked around the campus and chatted. They walked until they came across the old statue of the University's founder.

"Lets sit down." Phil pointed to one of the benches that circled the statue. They drifted over to it and Phil removed the guitar from his back. He took Dan's hand and kisses it. "I have a surprise for you." He pulled out his guitar and strummed a couple cords. Then he began to sing.

"When your legs don't work like they used to before  
And I can't sweep you off of your feet  
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?  
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?" Dan swayed along to Phil's singing and guitar playing. Phil never took his eyes off Dan. God I'm so in love with him. He thought. When the song was over, Dan smiled and kissed Phil.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dan I need your help." Phil showed up to Dan's room at 3am. He seemed desperate.

"Wha is it?" Dan replied sleepily and turned on the light.

"Felix, our keyboardist, accidentally smashed his hand in a car door and can't play and we need a keyboardist for our gig tonight." Phil said quickly. He grabbed Dan's hands. "Will you help us?" He pleaded.

"Of course I will." He kissed Phil's cheek. "I'm a fast learner, just give me the music."

"Ummm about that..." Phil smiled uncomfortably. "We don't exactly have sheet music." Dan face drops. "Is that a problem?"

"I can't learn music without music!" Dan exclaims. He begins pacing and mumbling to himself.

"Dan? You okay?" Phil grabs his shoulders. "Dan, listen to me. I have an idea." He pulls his guitar out. "Play that song you played the first time we met."

"Um, okay...." Dan does as he's told. Phil begins to play one of the band's songs on the guitar, careful to keep in time with Dan and match cord progressions with the piano. Phil sings a bit of the song. They sound in synch and play off each other well. They can both speak to each other in the language of music. They try out more songs with Dan playing classical music alongside Phil's more pop-y rock. Dan's addition to each song is like they themselves; a puzzle piece sliding into place.

"I gotta call Chris and tell him about this." Phil said after a couple of songs. He pulls out his phone and dials Chris' number. "Hey dude, I found a keyboardist!" He winks at Dan. He's bouncing on the balls of his feet. A voice is heard from the other line. "Yeah, but he's a classically trained so you really gotta try to stay with him when you're singing." More talking from the other line. "He's amazing, he's got fast and precise fingering."

"Trust me, he would know." Dan annoyingly tries to butt into the conversation.

"Stop it" Phil laughs. Dan kisses him. "So you're good with it?" He says to Chris. A moment. "Awesome." Phil hangs up.

"Welcome to the band." Phil embraces Dan and knocks him onto the bed. They both laugh.


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't know if I can do this." Dan shakes as the rest of the band sets up their equipment. Phil is tries desperately to calm him down.

"Everything's going to be fine, Dan." He coos and strokes Dan's cheek. Dan is on the verge of a panic attack. He can't do it. He can't perform in front of people. All judging him. Waiting for him to screw up. He can't do it. There's gonna be too many people. So many eyes. He can't breathe. It's like someone has placed a cloth over his nose and mouth. He's snapped back to reality by Phil's voice.

"Dan, listen" he grabs Dan's shoulder and shakes him gently to put an emphasis on certain words. " I'm going to be with you the whole time. I promise. If you feel scared, just keep your eyes on me." He kisses his cheek. Dan takes a few deep breaths.

"I can do this." He says to himself. "I can do this." He keeps repeating. He walks behind the keyboard and placed his hands on the keys. A keyboard. This is what I know well. He plays a few scales to get warmed up. Phil plays a the strings of his guitar to tune it. Chris sings a strange sounding vocal warm up. And PJ is... I don't even know what PJ's doing, he's a weird guy.

Once all of them are ready, the doors to the club are opened and Phil strikes his first chord. People walk in and start bobbing to the music. Chris' singing fills the room with Phil's lyrics. Dan plays his classical underneath the modern upbeat song. People look at him confused. Dan can a bead of sweat begin to form on his forehead. He looks to Phil for help. Phil looks at his scared face and mouths the words "I love you" to him. Dan is filled with determination.

The confused crowd is starting to really get into this new style. They're cheering the band on and dancing with each other. Everyone's having a great time. After a few songs, Dan relaxes, but he keeps his eyes glued to Phil. His fingers have a mind of their own and effortlessly play each song. His heart and mind are with Phil, wanting to run to him and kiss him. He's so in fucking love with him.

Phil's mind is split. One half of him is playing the guitar. The other half keeps looking up at Dan every few seconds. He wants to sweep him off his feet and carry him away from the things that make him anxious. He knows that Dan has bad anxiety and wants to make him feel safe in his arms. He's so fucking in love with him.

They play for an hour. Chris ends their gig by reintroducing the band and its members. When he gets to Dan, the crowd erupts into cheers. People loved his classical twist. Dan grins and Phil smiles at his boyfriend.

He crosses the stage to Dan as he slips out from behind the keyboard. Phil spins Dan and sweeps him off his feet. Dan blushes. The crowd gasps.

And then, Phil kisses him. Dan closes his eyes and kisses him back. The crowd cheers. Dan and Phil can't hear them, they're too busy lost in each other's lips.


End file.
